Santorini Sightseeing Excursions

One of the highlights of any visit to Santorini most certainly has to be the awesome excursion to the most famous volcano in Greece.

Before we deal with the excursion possibilities on Santorini Island itself, it must be noted that Santorini, being in the center of the southern Aegean Sea, offers a good starting point for Excursions and Tours to the neighboring islands of the Archipelago.

In Oia, the picturesque traditional town on the northwest side of Santorini, an old mansion houses the Maritime History Museum of Thera (the ancient name of Santorini).  It is worth a visit, since the inhabitants of the island have been sailors since the fifth millennium B.C. 

Another suggestion is to pay a visit to the Archaeological Museum in Fira Town.  Many finds representative of the island's long history are housed here, including vases and figurines (eidolia=Idols) of the Early Cycladic Civilization (2500-2000 BC), the second of three prehistoric civilizations in the Aegean Sea, with the Minoan and the Mycenaean Civilizations being the first and third, respectively. 

One must definitely visit the ancient Minoan City of Akrotiri, where excavations still continue.  You can walk through the streets of the ancient town and feel its history at every turn.  The original wall frescos, because of their unique importance, are kept in the Athens Archaeological Museum, but reproductions of them can be seen at the Petros Nomikos Conference Center within Acrotiri Village, the tunnels of which provide a superb background for the display. 

One of the highlights of any visit to Santorini most certainly has to be the awesome excursion to the most famous volcano in Greece. 
The Kameni islands are the cone - still active - of the volcano. A volcanic change took place in the year 726 probably on 'Palaia Kameni', and after this violent explosive no further volcanic activity was recorded for more than 800 years. The volcano struck again in 1570 and this activity continued for three years, creating a small dome-shaped island, which was called 'Mikri Kameni'. The volcanic activity started again in 1707 and continued for more than four years and by September 1711 had created alongside Mikri Kameni a new island which became known as 'Nea Kameni'. Between 1866 and 1870 there were further violent eruptions, when the island of Afroessa, southwest of Nea Kameni, was formed by masses of boiling lava.

A beautiful trip by traditional boat takes you to the lava islet of Nea Kameni, where you’ll walk to the rim of the crater of the still active volcano.  An incredible sight on its own, the view back toward Santorini is also totally outstanding.  A great feature of the excursion is to also have the chance to visit the Hot Springs of Palea Kameni, and to have a swim in its sulphur waters, or bathe in its warm therapeutic mud.  Midway through the excursion, there’s another sail to the lovely, traditional island of Thirassia, where you can swim or tour the lovely village of Manolas.  Sailing back to Santorini, the boat will bring you to Oia and give you the opportunity to discover the village and experience the magic of the Oia sunset.